1. The Field of the Present Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to medical implants, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to medical implants for repairing injuries, such as tears, to soft tissue.
2. Description of Related Art
Soft tissue tears are a common injury to the cartilage that stabilizes and cushions the joints. The meniscus, a crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure in the knee joint, is particularly susceptible to injury due today's active lifestyles of many individuals. Small tears to the meniscus may heal on their own. Moderate to large tears in the meniscus may require surgical repair. Various techniques have been developed by surgeons for repairing tears in the meniscus, including inside-out techniques and all-inside techniques, as explained below.
The inside-out technique for meniscal repair may be considered the gold standard means of meniscal repair. Multiple studies have demonstrated its efficacy and superior biomechanical strength. However, given its longer surgical time and complexity, as well as the advent of multiple all-inside repair devices and techniques, the inside-out repair is used far less frequently today than in the past. From a patient standpoint, however, this evolution may not represent progress. Only vertical mattress stitches placed on both the superior and inferior surfaces of a meniscal tear may result in anatomic reduction of a tear with 100% tissue apposition. Techniques and device developed for all-inside repairs may be deployed only on the superior surface of the tear, and as the sutures are tightened down, the meniscus may pucker, with tissue apposition superiorly, and gapping inferiorly. Further, most all-inside devices cut a sizeable channel through the meniscus tissue with their beveled cutting-tip delivery instruments. A return to the principles of inside-out repair, with superior and inferior surface stitches, as well as anatomic reduction of the tear, may have an immediate and significant impact on patient recovery time and satisfaction.
The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein. The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the present disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.